Boris Johnson vows to make cycling safer for Londoners

Mayor plans to make 33 of London’s most dangerous junctions safer for cyclists.

Boris Johnson has promised a “cycling revolution” by planning to make cycling safer for Londoners. Speaking at a conference at City Hall about reducing the number of cyclist deaths on London streets, Mr Johnson said Transport for London will set out a programme to make 33 of the city’s most dangerous junctions more bike-friendly.

Following the recent spate of cyclist deaths on London streets last month, Mr Johnson gave updated figures from a major police traffic operation, saying more than 2,000 motorists and cyclists had been stopped by officers in the past two weeks for infractions such as jumping red lights.

Mr Johnson said: “We must make cycling even safer and wherever accidents take place, we must respond. We must see what could have been done to prevent them, we must immediately work out what we can do to stop them happening again, and we must address people’s fears, well-founded or otherwise.”

Several of the recent deaths actually happened on so-called cycle superhighways. Some critics have argued that this has encouraged cyclists to use major roads, placing them in more danger as these roads are not segregated properly, just marked by a strip of blue paint. As a result, it could give cyclists a false sense of safety.

Mr Johnson plans to improve the current system by “expand[ing] and improve[ing] the superhighways.” He added: “where it is possible and sensible, we will segregate those routes, as we have done at Stratford.” He is adamant that cycling has a chance of becoming mainstream, declaring: “London should be in many ways a perfect city to ride a bike. We have a flat or gently undulating landscape – much less hilly than Paris. We have more green space and parks than any other city in Europe. We have perfect temperate weather.”

What else do you think should be done to make cycling safer for Londoners? Let us know by posting in the comments below.

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